IMG and WPP join forces for global licensing collaboration

3 May 2011

NEW YORK — WPP [NASDAQ: WPPGY], the world’s leading communications services group, and IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, announced today a worldwide partnership to collaborate in offering consumer products licensing and merchandising services.

As part of the multi-year agreement, WPP and IMG will establish a joint team and share resources to offer and provide licensing services to clients from WPP’s portfolio of agencies.
Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, commented: "More than ever, licensing is emerging as one of the new creative ways of developing brands and sales. It is a capability we see as increasingly important to our clients. We wanted to offer this important discipline in a global execution and with the market leader - that is IMG. In our view, there could be no better partner to help us achieve our goals in this area."

George Pyne, President of IMG’s Sports and Entertainment Group, added: “WPP’s agencies have an impressive roster of clients coupled with the brand knowledge and consumer insights that come from years of experience working with them. We believe that our global execution capability and specialized expertise in the licensing business coupled with their deep-rooted knowledge and relationships with certain client companies can yield some very beneficial and successful partnerships. This is a really natural collaboration that was waiting to happen.”
Executives from the WPP-IMG partnership will be meeting with advertisers who have expressed interest in developing brand licensing programs or who have potential to do so.
The new WPP venture is an additive unit to IMG Licensing's existing operations and the latter will continue to serve existing and new clients without change.


Contacts
Kevin McCormack, WPP
Tel: +1 212 632 2239
[email protected]  

Jim Gallagher, IMG
Tel: +1 212-774-4419
[email protected]
Mobile +1 914-953-1103

About WPP
WPP is the world’s largest communications services group with billings of $66 billion and revenues of approximately $15 billion. Through its operating companies, the Group provides a comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services including advertising; media investment management; consumer insight; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing and specialist communications. The company employs over 146,000 people (including associates) in 2,400 offices in 107 countries. For more information, visit www.wpp.com.  

About IMG
IMG Worldwide is a global sports, entertainment and media business, with nearly 3,000 employees operating in 30 countries around the globe. IMG’s areas of expertise are diverse and wide ranging: IMG College; IMG’s Joint Ventures in China, Brazil and India; IMG Media; IMG Events and Federations; IMG Fashion; IMG Models; IMG Art+Commerce; IMG Clients, IMG Academies; IMG Consulting and IMG Licensing. More information is available at www.imgworld.com.